Custom Carbon & Graphite Machining

02 Aug

Graphite Density and Graphite Grade

Maybe we’re just a bit dense at Semco, but when the conversation at a party turns from politics or sports to things like graphite density or graphite grades (this never actually happens, but humor us), we get very excited (or we would, if such a thing were ever to happen). There’s a reason for that. In the graphite business, graphite density is an all-important quality that we use to separate a wide variety of graphite materials. Understanding graphite density helps us to categorize most of the graphite grades available today into three broad categories. “Why is that so important?” the...

27 Jul

New Hire Matt Millard - Senior Saw Operator

When Semco posts a job, we are often looking for very specific qualifications in possible new hires. Often, we are searching for someone with a background in graphite fabrication. Other times, we need a person who can communicate knowledgeably with graphite suppliers and shipping companies. Recently, we needed someone who was expert in operating large saws like the ones we use on our shop floor. If that sounds like a simple qualification, think again. If you hear the word “saw” and what comes to mind is a wooden handle attached to a one-foot blade, like the one you use to...

16 Jul

From Graphite Blocks to Graphite Component

We’ve covered many details in this blog about our machining of graphite components, including the different types of graphite that we use, design considerations, and some case studies about how we solved particular problems that our clients have run into. In this blog, we would like to provide a grand overview of the process that a block of graphite goes through in our facility to become finished graphite components ready to ship to our customers. More specifically, we want to tell you about the machines that do the cutting, shaping, and finishing of graphite blocks until they become the parts...

05 Jul

Graphite Material Property-Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

At Semco Carbon, we are constantly thinking of new, relevant, and useful topics involving graphite materials and graphite applications to share with the readers of this blog. If something has to do with the manufacture of graphite products, we’ve probably got a lot to say, and a story to tell, about it. During a recent meeting, our application engineers were working on a specific issue that one of our customers was having. This customer had been experiencing premature component breakage in a new high temperature process they were testing. After thinking about the specifics of their application, we realized that...

28 Jun

Maintaining graphite production operations during the Covid pandemic

Over the last year, many cherished activities ceased, at least temporarily. Music concerts, gone; indoor dining, gone; dinner parties with family and friends, gone; but graphite manufacturing, at least at Semco, hardly hit a snag. As the world begins to re-open and we assess our lives in this unusual moment, Semco would like to take time to congratulate our employees at every level for their nearly flawless maintenance of graphite production over the course of the COVID pandemic. We feel blessed as a company that the products we make are so integral to various industries, and we feel proud that...